10 things you need to know about steak

Mark Watson and Henning Wehn get stuck into some serious steak in the first episode of Road To Rio. And then some more. And some more. In fact, it's such a veritable meat fest that we thought we'd count down 10 facts about the chewy brown stuff...

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Norse code

Think steaks are just a flash in the pan? Well, think again as the word has been around since the mid-15th century. It comes from the Old Norse word 'steik', which originated from the word 'steikja', meaning roast on a spit. Ahem.

What a mi-steak-a to make-a

The 'Big Kahuna' steak at AJ's Steakhouse in Iowa weighs in at 205 ounces - that's about 64 times the size of a Big Mac burger. Closer to home, The Duck Inn in Redditch offers a 150 ounce steak that's heavier than some newborn babies. Best of all, if you manage to polish the whole thing off they'll refund the price. Good luck with that!

Cow much?

According to South Dakota State University, a beef cow of around 1,200 pounds should yield about 38% to 44% of edible beef or about £460 worth. So that should be enough for a couple of steaks at AJ's Steakhouse.

Pass the Rennies

Molly Schuyler smashed the world record for fastest eating of a 72-ounce steak last year when she gobbled it down in just 2 minutes and 44 seconds. That's over four minutes quicker than previous record holder Peter 'Furious Pete' Czerwinski. We bet he was real furious when he heard the news. Watch video

Chewing the fat

Just like world record-breaker Molly (probably), the average cow has more than 40,000 jaw movements per day. It also produces around 15-20 gallons of saliva per day but let's not go there.

Fashion mis-steak?

The 2010 MTV Music Video Awards will be remembered by many as the night when Cher held Lady Gaga's meat purse. Gaga changed into an outfit made of raw meat to accept an award for the Bad Romance video, leading to a Fashion Statement Of The Year award from Time magazine and condemnation from animal rights activists. Well, you can't please everyone all of the time.

Beefing up

Figures released last year show that the average meat consumption per person in the UK each year is 84.2kg. That's equivalent to wolfing down a 6.2ft man every year. But don't let that put you off.

The steaks are high

The world's priciest steak will set you back $350 (about £208) at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York. The A5 Kobe Strip Steak has 12 ounces of prime Japanese beef that apparently gets its melt in the mouth quality because the cattle are restricted from grazing to prevent them from developing muscle. However, that pales into comparison next to the $2,800 (about £1668) Wagyu Ribeye served up by Craftsteak in New York. The 40-pound steak was ordered by a private party, however, the restaurant has since closed. Perhaps not that much of a shock with prices like that.

Holy cow

Many people in India still view cows as sacred so it may come as a surprise that the country is now the world's second biggest exporter of beef. Brazil reigns supreme, having shipped a mighty 1.35m tonnes to more than 130 countries in 2013.

What's your beef?

The rib-eye steak is one of the fattiest cuts of meat with a belly-bulging 466 calories and 37.6g of fat per six ounce serving. Weight watchers should instead plump (see what we did there?) for a Sirloin tip side steak which has just 206 calories and 5.4g of fat in a similar sized portion. (Source: Caloriecount.com)